Choices
by Kid Ape 2
Summary: It is essential to evolve to survive. For an eevee, it is simply a matter of choice. For most the choice is simple. For others, it is more difficult. For few more its a life decision. And for fewer more, it is a consequence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Pokemon related material belong to their respective owners.

chapter 1

The rain slowly came down. It has been cloudy for days and now the clouds are letting the water come. Rain or shine, it didn't matter to Lo. She didn't enjoy it, but it didn't bother her or get in the way of what she was doing. She sat on the edge of the river watching the rain disturb the surface that was mirror like before. She could still see her reflection though. Brown fur, white mane, deep brown eyes and furry long ears. A young eevee staring at the other in the water. Deep in thought and deaf to her surroundings. All she could hear was the dripping and splashes of the rain hitting the water. It calmed her. Helped her think. Especially considering the decision she would have to make soon.

"Change is inevitable, Lo" She remembered her father saying. "We change to adapt and become stronger. Without this choice, our kind would have never survived this long. You are now at the age I was when I made mine." Her father. A jolteon. A strong one as well. Wise and kind. If only he understood what this felt like. A choice that is forever. Once its been made, there is no turning back. Lo couldn't decide. What if she chose something she didn't like? What if she chose something they didn't like? Why did she have to choose so soon? She liked being an eevee. Everyone was putting so much pressure on her and it was getting to her. This is so hard.

"Lo?" Came a voice from behind. She didn't look. "Lo, what are you doing here? Its raining out here. You tryna get sick?"

"Yan, are you sure of what you want to evolve into?" She asked while continuing her stare into the river. An older eevee came and sat next to her, obviously annoyed by the rain.

"Yeah. Umbreon or bust! Why?"

"How is it so easy for you to choose?... I'm... I'm afraid I might choose wrong.." Lo frowned and swiped at the water disrupting the reflection. Once it cleared and returned, Yan looked at her reflection and then at his. With a smile he rolled his tongue out and shook his head. Lo looked at him and giggled.

"I know how you feel. Believe me. But when I saw Tif do what he did to save our pack, I decided then and there that I would be just like him. To do that, I need to be what he was. An Umbreon." Lo listened to him. He looked at her and she looked back. "You're my best friend, Lo. I know you'll make the right choice. Don't worry." Lo looked back at the water. She quickly thought of what her father said.

"I just don't feel ready for a decision like that..."

"It's Xen, your dad, huh?" Yan asked. Lo nodded. "Did you tell him that?" Lo shook her head. "Maybe you should. I'm sure he'll understand." Lo nodded again. "Good. Now lets go. I'm wet and hungry." The two eevee then left the river and headed home.

Lo felt a little better. She and Yan talked more as they walked. The converstaion eventually went back to Tif. Tif was an Umbreon that saved the pack from a neigboring pack of mightyena. They had the help of the Houndoom from the northern forest as a debt that they owed. Together the two packs drove the mightyena out of the entire territory. Tif was wounded in the final fight and after it was over he dissapeared. Yan and Lo were younger then, but the battle was very real. Tif was like a role model to Yan. Now that he's gone, Yan clearly wants to fill in his place as a protector of the pack. That was his reason for becoming an Umbreon. Lo didn't have much reason to change. Sure Tif was a great pokemon, but she didn't feel the same way that Yan did. She also knows her father would like for her to be a jolteon, but she didnt want to be that either. There were so many choices to pick from and thogh they all had their advantages, the "right" choice was nearly impossible for Lo to see. She didnt want to pick something and merely become a burden on the rest of the pack. If that were to happen the pack leader would surely have her exiled. As fa as a choice to be made, Lo was feeling less and less certain everyday. The ceremony of the stones was soon and she was running out of time.

They soon came to a familiar den that was under a small cliff. A tree grew above it giving the den strong walls on the inside from the roots. grass hung over the entrance and hid it very well. Yan and Lo walked to it.

"Thank you Yan. I feel much beter now." Lo said.

"No prob. Remember to tell your dad about it. He's a nice pokemon. He's gotta understand." Yan replied. Lo nodded. Yan then said goodbye and dashed off to his den. Lo sighed. How was she going to tell him? It wasn't something to casually bring up over a few berries.

'Oh yeah, I'm having second thoughts about evolving. How was your day?' This was going to be tough. Lo braced herself and trudged inside. The den was empty. It was quite spacious. There were even individual rooms for Lo and her father. Of course He had the bigger room. Lo didn't mind. She liked hers. It was more private and quiet. The way she liked it.

"Welcome home Lo. Did you enjoy the rain?" Came a voice from outside the den. Lo turned to see her father come in with a mouth full of berries.

"I should ask you the same thing." She giggled. The jolteon laughed. He then shook the rain off of his fur and splashed Lo. "Hey!" She blurted. Her father looked.

"I'm sorry." Lo laughed and shook herself as well. Xen then gave her a few berries and the two sat down for dinner. Lo finished eating and stood to go to her room.

"Lo. I want to speak with you." Xen said. Lo felt her heart speed up. She already knew what he was going to say. She reluctantly sat back down. Xen looked her in the eyes. She couldn't do the same. The way she felt made her feel ashamed to look at him. "have you made your decision yet?" He asked jumping right to it. Lo tried to find her voice. She felt like she was being scolded like a kit.

"I...I.. No.." She stammered. She glanced at her father and saw that he had a serious look on his face. She lowered her head avoiding his stare.

"Lo.. You know how importa-"

"I know dad, but Why do I have to choose?" She interupted. "Couldn't I just stay an eevee?" Xen sighed.

"For how long?" He questioned. "How long before you realize that it's essential to evolve. You won't be a kit all your life, Lo."

"But dad.. I'm not... I can't..." She tried. The harder she tried the more she failed. She felt her eyes swell. "Dad I'm scared.. I dont know what to do!" She said as she broke down. "I can't decide! It's so hard!" She layed down and let the tears come. Xen layed by her side and nuzzled her.

"Lo, I know this is hard. Its the most difficult choice for a young eevee. why didnt you tell me you felt this way before?"

"I thought you would be angry at me. I didnt want you to hate me." Lo cried.

"How could you think that? You're my daughter. I will always love you." Lo cried harder and Xen continued to comfort her.

"Dad. I'm so confused. I dont want to choose something that would be a mistake. I dont want to get in the way of everyone." Lo said through her tears. Xen looked at her.

"I know. But you are my child. I know that you will choose well. And whatever you choose, I will support you always." Lo nuzzled her father.

"Thanks dad." She felt a weight lift from her. Now that she told him she felt a little better. Xen then stood and went to his room. Before he left, he looked at his daughter again.

"Good night." He said. Lo nodded.

"Good night, dad." She replied. She then slowly went to her room and layed on a bed of soft grass. Now that her burden was gone, she could focus on making a decision. The only problem was choosing before the ceremony of stones. Would she be ready by then? It was only two weeks away. Hopefully she could choose right. She decided that tomorrow she would ask the other evovlutions what they felt. Maybe they could help. As she drifted off, a final thought crossed her mind.

'What would her mother have done?'

End of Chapter 1

New story. I know the other one isnt finished, but im kind of stuck on it. I Started this to help with writers block. Please review if you want me to continue it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Pokemon related material belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 2

The next morning Lo awoke from an uneasy rest. She left her room and poked her head outside. The rain stopped, but the sky was still gray. The ground was wet but there was no mud. That was good. At least by that she knew the rest of the. Pack would be out now. She looked back in to see if her father was still asleep. Concluding that he was, she decided to leave. She trotted out past many trees and dens of the other pack members. Few were out because of the dark weather, but the ones that were happily greeted Lo as she passed them. More than enough were already evolved and some here not much older than she was. The thought still played in her mind of how they were able to choose So easily. Did they regret the decision at all? Soon Lo came to the gathering place of where the stone ceremony was going to was in a circle that spread around a large pedastal like rock. The rock already had many evolution stones carefully placed around it. They were all beautiful as they seemed to give off a shimmering glow all their own. Lo quickly knew which stones were which. A water stone, a fire stone, and a thunderstone. There was even a mossy rock in the middle. The only one that wasn't there was an icy rock. If an eevee wanted to become a glaceon then they would have to make a long journey into the mountains. That was the main reason there weren't many glaceon around. Lo admired all the stones. They were so beautiful that she felt the urge to grab one. She quickly pushed the feeling. She knew if she touched one that evolving would happen. All she could do was look.

"Hello Lo." Someone said to her from behind. Lo turned to see an espeon walking towards her with several more stones floating around her.

"Hi Ayra." Lo replied. Ayra set the stones down neatly beside the others and turned to properly greet the young eevee. "The stones are beautiful this season." The older espeon said.

"Many of the young ones will have plenty to choose from for the ceremony." Lo looked at the stones almost sadly. "Something troubles you." Ayra said to her. Lo looked at her surprised but remembered what evolution she was. There was no hiding secrets from Ayra. Even the other espeon of the pack found it hard to hold anything from her. That was the main reason the pack leader chose her for such things as interrogations and questionings of stranger pokemon that wandered info their territory. Ayra especially was looked to for advice on things of the world and though she was aged, she was respected among all the eevee as well as visiting pokemon.

"I don't know about evolving." Lo admitted. "I just want to stay me. But I don't want to be useless." Lo remembered the feeling she had at the river before Yan found her. It felt fresh and only made her more hesitant to choose.

"Is that all?" Ayra asked obviously amused. She acted surprised but Lo felt that she knew the answer before. Ayra looked to the stones. "I once knew a water pokemon who decided to pick a fight with an electric, who do you think would claim victory?" Lo looked at the espeon confused. This seemed to have nothing to do with anything.

"The electric type." She replied. Ayra looked at Lo again.

"And knowing that he was destined to lose, he chose to fight. Hm?" Lo slowly nodded. "You know that without a choice, life would be meaningless. Everything is a choice. Weather we fight, run, or simply stare at the clouds, it is something we decide to do." Lo still didn't quite understand and she began to wonder if the espeon was just losing her mind. "What if I told you that water pokemon believed that he would lose?" \

"Then... He regrets fighting?..." Lo replied. Ayra shook her head.

"He tries harder. He doesn't let the loss weigh on his mind and sway him from his goals. You don't want anyone to disapprove your dicision, correct?" Lo once again held back a surprised gasp as she remembered who the pokemon she was speaking with was. She couldn't help but wonder how she knew.

"I don't want to be exiled because I'm useless..." Lo said gravely. Ayra looked at her doubtfully. Lo could somehow feel it and it made her uncomfortable.

"I don't think that's all." She said bluntly. Lo looked at the espeon confused. "In fact I think that's not the main reason at all. Are you going to tell me the truth at all?" Lo was taken back. And a bit insulted.

"Are you reading my mind?" The eevee asked nearly raising her voice. Lo had the utmost respect for the adults, especially Ayra and her father. Even the older evolutions came to her for advice from time to time. The only thing she didn't like was for the elder espeon to search through her thoughts for the truth. Even if it was only to help her. Lo valued her privacy over many things and what she kept secret she fully intended to keep it that way. Ayra had no right to her mind.

"I read your feelings, child. I am more capable of telling emotions apart from thoughts. I know what you're feeling, Lo. Tell me what it is that is bothering you." Ayra was also the most sincere in the whole pack. Lo trusted her almost more than Yan. She let her guard down and breathed. How would she explain jt? Though she knew that everyone must choose, how was she going to tell Ayra that she wasn't ready? That she didn't want to choose. What was so bad about staying the way she was? Lo knew she had to say something. She took a breath and began. She told Ayra everything. All her emotions and feelings. All her concerns and worries. It was as if a weight was beingg lifted from her. But at the same time, a touch of shame hung over her.

"Am I being selfish?" She asked Ayra sadly. The psychic type just laughed.

"You think it selfish to love yourself?" She asked the saddened eevee. "We never had a young who wanted to remain as they are. Though I don't know how the rest of the pack will react to this, I find it acceptable." Lo looked hopeful and understood. Even Yan didn't tell her he would accept her for wanting to stay an eevee. He might have felt that she should evolve. Maybe she should ask him. "I sometimes wish that I would have made another choice when I was your age. But I don't like living inthe past. There is nothing I can do to change it. Besides. When I realize that I chose this form to help against the great haunting, I know that I made the right decision."

Lo had nearly forgot about the Great Haunting. It was battle that involved ghost pokemon and the rest of the forest. The violence lasted nearly years and the ghosts had some form of power that no one knew where they had gotten it. The power rendered normal pokemon useless against them and the ghosts nearly destroyed everything. Ayra told her stories for the new generation of eevee and said that something in her brought her to making her evolution choice. She and many more psychic types found the ghost's power source and destroyed it, giving the upper hand to the normals and ending the fight. It was one of Lo and Yan's favorite stories. Lo had a sudden thought that brought her another question that she feared the Answer to. She had to ask it though.

"But Ayra, I don't want to evolve. Doesn't that mean I didn't choose anything?" Ayra stood and went over to the stones and began to arrange them.

"Don't forget the story of the water pokemon, Lo." Ayra said. Lo tilted her head.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything is a choice. The water pokemon chose to challenge his rival though he could have easily chosen not to." Lo still didn't quite understand. Ayra knew it. "Why are you speaking with me?" The question caught the eevee off guard. She felt a little hurt and rejected from it.

"B... because you spoke to me first.."

"That's right. But you chose to respond. A choice is as simple as that. Just like I chose to address you. Just like Yan chose to become your friend. And like how you chose to become his." Lo was astounded. Everything was a choice? Even walking? "Do you understand now, Lo?"

"I think so.." She replied.

"Hey, Lo!" Called a light voice. Lo looked to see a group of younger eevee dashing towards her. Lo smiled and greeted back. She then turned to Ayra and thanked her for the strange advice. Ayra nodded and continued preparing. Lo padded to meet the children and yhey all happily gathered around her.

"Lo, are you going to evolve soon?" A smaller one asked. Her name was Lar and she was one of the youngest out of the five eevee surrounding Lo.

"Maybe soon." Lo replied as truthfully as she could, remembering Ayra's words on choices.

"I'll bet she chooses a flareon!" Barked Tyro. He was the self proclaimed leader of the group and the others quickly followed him wherever he went.

"Nuh-uh!" Said Kilki. A rare gray eevee. Her fur was envied by even by many of the adults. She was a bit timid but she fought for what she thought was right. She was showing a more bolder side today. "Lo will turn into what she wants. That's what I... think.." She finished as she started to slunk back and her ears drooped. Lo smiled.

"Maybe I will become something that everyone will like." She said. kilki smiled and moved back up. The other two eevee nodded enthusiastically. Their names were Loto and Kip. Being brothers and Loto being the eldest, Kip only followed Loto around. So it only seemed that Kip was with Tyro.

"Do you wanna play with us, Lo?" Lar asked. Tyro glared at her.

"I was gonna ask her!" He bellowed at her. Lar backed away. Tyro quickly earned a glare from Kilki as she went over to Lar.

"Its okay." Said Lo. "I'll be happy to play with you. What do you wanna play?"

"Hide and seek!" The kits all said together. Lo nodded.

"Okay. I'll count while you hide." They all yipped happily. Lar and Kilki ran off together while Loto and Kip ran another direction. Tyro looked around pridefully.

"You would have just held me down anyway. An expert like me doesn't need a partner!" He boasted as he ran off. Lo counted. She made it to twenty and sounded off.

"Ready or not, here I come! Ahh!" She squeaked.

"Hi there." Said Yan standing right behind her with a big smile. Lo nipped at his ear.

"You scared me half to death!" She barked at him as he avoided her attack.

"You were talking to the nothing and I didnt want to interrupt." Yan joked. Lo threw him a look.

"I'm playing hide and seek with the kits!" Yan nodded as if understanding a complicated joke. "instead of being 'polite', why don't you help me find them." Yan shrugged and they both began their search.

"I'm glad that you're feeling better." Yan said as they walked through the village of trees. The sun was beginning to show from behind the clouds and gave the sky the blue color of spring.

"Yeah. I guess."

"Wait. Are you feeling better?" Lo began to slow her pace. After talking with Ayra and hearing her say on the matter, she had a bit of hope. But now she wasn't sure if there was anything to be hopeful for. Ayra approved, but she was only one out of the rest of the pack. What about the elder? What about her father? That little bit of hope was beginning to fade. Yan was looking at her expecting as they trotted through the pack territory.

"Well.. I'm still not sure about the whole evolving thing. I mean, you can understand how I feel right?" Lo asked remembering what she wanted Yan to say. That he could understand if she didnt want to evolve. That he could understand if she could simply remain how she was. An eevee.

"I can't say that I do." He replied. Lo's ears drooped but she rose them before Yan could see. "I mean is it only a matter of choice? There are plenty to choose from."

"I just... I dont want to evolve.." She looked to see Yan looking at her a bit confused. He really didn't understand how she felt. She felt low.

"Why not?" He asked. Lo shook her head sadly.

"I dont want to talk about it." she replied. Yan wanted to know exactly what was bothering her, but he didn't want to push the subject. There had to be more to her not wanting to evolve than what he has seen. He couldn't help but wonder. The two eevee searched for the kits. They searched for nearly an hour,b tu found no trace of them. Where could they have gone? Were they safe? Lo was starting to worry.

"They've gotten pretty good at this game, huh?" Yan joked trying to lighten the heavy mood for Lo. She nodded but still had concern. They would usually jump out and try to scare her by now. Especially Tyro. But they've been gone for longer than usual. Lo decided to venture further out. Maybe they got distracted by something. That thought only made her quicken her pace and make it harder for Yan to catch up. Soon they came to a less visited area of the territory. Lo sniffed around and so did Yan after giving a compliant of how she always used to beat him in races when they were younger. Lo had the kits' scent before, but now it was nearly gone. Where could they be?

"Yan, I'm a little worried." Lo spoke. Yan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah me too. Hopefully they havent gotten into any trouble.."

"Help!" A small voice cried out. Lo and Yan immediately bolted toward the sound. As they drew closer, a scream pierced the air.

"Kilki!" Said Lo realizing who it was. "Kilki where are you!?"

"Lo help me please!" Lo's heart raced as she ran to the eevee kit. She found Kilki alone under a strange trap made of wood and grass knots. The eevee's eyes were full of fear and she was shaking furiously.

"Kilki, how did you get in there?!" Lo gasped as she looked for a way to free her.

"There was a ghost! I saw a ghost and it took away Tyro. It took everyone and left me here. Lo please let me out!" Yan looked around trying to spot any intruders.

"A ghost? Like from the battle?" He said to himself. Lo only heard that the others were kidnapped and she started to panic. She finally chewed through a knot and the trap opened and fell apart. Kilki rushed up to Lo and buried her face into Lo's mane. Yan looked back and spoke.

"We should go. We have to tell the rest of the pack about this. They'll know what to do." Lo nodded and they started back to the main territory. Lo knew that the rest of the pack would be ready to search for the kits at any means. But with her not wanting to evolve, they may not let her join them. Worse yet, they may blame her for losing the young ones.

"What can I do?" She said as they ran through the trees.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Pokemon related material belong to their respective owners

Sorry that it took so long for this one. I had major writers block and I lost the flash drive that had a lot of chapters for Separation. Kinda sad about that. But hopefully this will make up for that giant gap of not posting for either story. 86 views and three followers so far. Feels pretty good... Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 3

The sun was now resting on the clouds and gave them an appearance of a luscious white valley. The air was cool and breathed through the trees as the leaves danced with the breeze. The rain that recently passed was evaporating and gave a chilled moisture to the forest floor. Spring was in full bloom and the forest was beautiful. A Shinx chews on a berry while shuffling through the thick grass. Its smaller than most others and has an unusual discoloration on it's back. Its the shape of a lightning bolt and is an odd purple color. This shinx's name was Dihn. He was brave and adventurous, though only in his mind. In reality he kept to himself and avoided any other pokemon that came near him. That lead many to believe that he was cold and mean. Some even made him out to be an untrustworthy pokemon. Dihn made it seem as though he didnt mind, but he really did care. He hated being made out to be what he was not, but his shyness prevented him from defending his name. Shortly put, he was very misunderstood. Because of his personality, no one has made the attempt to even speak with him, and if someone did, it would be to bully and belittle him, making him even more reluctant to make friends. He would often sneak off from his home at night and walk to clear his mind. That and to meet the only pokemon that treated him kindly. An umbreon named Tif.

Dihn was near Tif's den and came to a stop outside of a dead and hollowed tree that still stood strong. At the base was a hole wide enough to fit several pokemom that may be hiding from a cold downpour of rain. His blinking eyes saw only the darkness coming from inside it. As he finished his leaf, he crawled closer to the tree, but didn't go inside.

"Tif? Are you there?" He asked the black den. For a moment there was no reply. Then came a yawn along with the yellow glow of the umbreon's rings. The soft lights moved and came towards the shy shinx. As Tif came into the daylight, he gave a stretch and greeted Dihn happily.

"Hello, Dihn." He said in a strong yet soft voice. Dihn could see a strange scar going down the umbreon's ear and he would usually look at it before Tif's face.

"I thought you were gone for a second." Dihn said with relief. Tif smiled.

"I don't have much to go outside of my home for these days. Only for food and water. It is also nice to have some company from time to time." Dihn beamed. He was eager to ask Tif about his many adventures and stories today. It had been almost a week since he ventured here to speak with the umbreon because of the rumors that were started about him near his home. Usually he could easily shrug them off, but these were more vicious than before. Some were that he was seeing a ghost pokemon and was planning on joining him to destroy his pride and home. Others were that he was working with humans and were planning on capturing everyone in their strange round prisons. These rumors were even starting to grab the attention of the adults and they watched him nonstop. He was lucky to get away from them un-noticed today.

"Can I hear another story about mightyena? Please?" Dihn begged. Tif smiled and started walking. Dihn trotted to keep up with him.

"I think I've told you all of them." Tif replied. Dihn felt a bit dissapointed. "But I haven't told you about the Great Haunting, have I?" Dihn perked at the chance to hear something new from Tif. They both walked slowly as Tif began.

"The Great Haunting was a war that took place before you were born and when I was very young. I was but an eevee then. My mother and father both took part in the battles. The ghosts were ruthless and didn't hesitate to strike anyone down. Even kits." Dihn gulped at the thought, but felt his excitement build. "My older sister, Ayra and our soon to be pack elder, Nirha were both ordered to defend the territory and keep the young ones safe. Soon our fear had rose to a point that made us abandon all hope. But not Ayra, nor Nirha. And when all was nearly lost, an ally we have forgotten came to us and together we pushed back the ghosts if only for a while." Tif and Dihn came to a stream. The water was cool and its smell filled both pokemon's noses. Tif leaned forward to drink. Dihn did the same although he wasn't thirsty. He didn't want to appear too impatient for the rest of the story. Tif finished drinking and continued.

"The houndoom and their clan had come to our rescue just as we have long ago when they were at war with the humans. They said our help has earned us their eternal gratitude and alliance. It had been years since that pact and we were the only ones who had forgotten it." Tif sat down near the stream and so did Dihn. "With reinforcements and new means of protection from the houndoom and houndour, we were able to assemble a team to find the ghosts power and to destroy it. My sister Ayra and Nirha both volunteered for the mission. I could not however. I was still too young. I had not chosen my evolution yet. After they set out for the mission, weeks passed before they returned. The ghosts dissapeared and we claimed victory in the war that began before I was born. Soon after I had became an umbreon and vowed to protect my pack forever."

Dihn looked to see Tif with a saddened expression. The umbreon shook his head and smiled at him.

"Come lets head back." Dihn nodded and they both rose to leave. Suddenly there was a loud snap from across the stream. The two pokemon halted and looked to see where it was. A terrified scream rang through the trees. Tif was suddenly across the stream after a powerful jump. Dihn jumped as he realized that he had to follow.

"Tif! Wait for me!" He yelped. He looked at the water and felt a shiver. Would there be any damage if he tried to cross? What about the pokemon living in it? He shook his head. Tif needed help and he couldnt wait for too long or he'll be gone too far. Dihn stepped back and prepared to run. He took off and leaped.

Tif dashed through the trees and searched for the source of the screams. He wondered if he would be in for a fight ad if he would be able to if his injury didn't hinder him. There was another scream and he quickly forgot about the old wound in his leg and made for the cries. A deep voice hissed as Tif came closer.

"You wont get away from me again, little runt!Don't make this harder on yourself."

"Leave me alone! Get away from me!" A smaller voice squeaked, trying to be brave but failing. Tif finally found what the two voices belonged to. He saw an eevee kit backing against a tree ready to attack with what little strength it had. Cornering the young pokemon was a large haunter with a familiar gash going under its eyes.

"You know there is no escaping. I already have your friends. Just come peacefully and I won't harm you." The eevee growled and lowered herself, ready to bite. The haunter shook his head. "I tried to give you a choice. You chose wrong." He then moved toward her and her bravery began to ebb away.

"No! Leave me alone!" She screamed. She closed her eyes and waited to be struck, but nothing happened. She looked to see a black pokemon in front of her. He glared at the haunter and growled deeply.

"Sain.." Tif said darkly and full of anger. The ghost pokemon tilted his head.

"Have we met?"

"You nearly destroyed my pack. I will never forget your face. Nor will I forgive you." Sain laughed. Such a rare opportunity happens only once in a lifetime.

"So you lived in that pack of helpless eevee? If I had the chance I would have killed the lot of you.." Tif growled again. "Dont worry. You will find death soon enough. So will that pathetic group of eevee scum you call your pack. I dont need the little one. I have many more." The eevee kit spoke up.

"Where are my friends?! Give them back!" Tif looked at her and looked back to sain. The haunter smiled.

"You are no longer the only ones with allies, Umbreon. You will even see that you can not trust the ones closest to you." Sain smiled as if remembering something. "Or maybe you are the one not to be trusted." He then dissapeared into nothing as his words lingered in the air. Tif looked back to the startled eevee.

"Are you alright?" He asked. She hesitated, but eventually nodded. "What is your name?"

"Lar." She said softly.

"My name is Tif." Lar's eyes widened.

"Tif?! From the stories?! Is that really you?!" Tif frowned.

"You are from the eastern pack?" He asked. Lar nodded. The umbreon felt a strong sense of being home. And also longing. How badly Tif wanted to return to the pack. He wished that he could see his sister again and to be with his own once more. But he couldn't. He had done something unforgivable in his battle with the mightyena and it haunted him so mercilessly that he felt no other choice but to leave. His hope of returning was gone because of the punishment he had given himself.

"Tif!" came Dihn's voice as he ran to meet the umbreon and still shaken eevee. The shinx stops and looks at Lar a bit confused.

"Is everything alright?" Dihn asked nearly out of breath. Tif nodded. Dihn let out a relieved sigh, mainly because he made the jump without touchung the water. Barely.

"Thank you for helping me, Tif." Lar said. "Now we can go home and get help." Tif shook his head.

"I cant do that.." He said sadly. Lar frowned.

"Why not? I want to help my friends!"

"Then you must go alone." Tif found what he said a bit harsh, but he could not return to his home. Dihn looked at Tif and then to Lar.

"Well my name is-"

"You have to help me, Tif! Please! Youre a hero!" Lar interupted. Tif's eyes widened. He began to walk back toward the stream and to his tree den.

"I am no hero, young Lar. The stories you hear of me are all lies.." Lar watched him as he walked. "I cannot return with you.. I refuse to see their judging faces.."

"What do you mean?" The eevee asked. Tif shook his head again. He then changed the subject and spoke to the listening shinx.

"Dihn." He said. Dihn perked at his name. "You should take her with you to your home and try to find help. She has a long journey home." Dihn looked nervous.

"Um... I dont think that would be a good idea-"

"Have a safe trip. May you find your friends safely, Lar." Tif walked away from them. The young eevee frowned and bounded up behind him and Dihn gasped as he ran behind her. Tif turned back and saw a determined Lar watching him as he walked.

"Why are you following me?" He asked.

"You are a hero. I believe all the stories that Lo and Yan told me." Lar spoke as if trying to remind the umbreon. Lo. Tif remembered a young eevee with that name. He remembered her being this eevee's age when he last saw her. She had to be old enough to be ready to choose her evolution by now. Of course he remembers her. It was his friend Xen's daughter. And how he remembered her mother. Strong and beautiful. Caring and brave. The main reason for his dissapearance from the pack. What had he done? It was a story he wanted to forget. A story he told no one. Not even Dihn. The thoughts of what he had done kept playing in his mind ever since he left.

-The mightyena had cornered a Vaporeon who was on guard and ready to defend herself. She growled at them menacingly as they slowly approached her with sharp teeth.

'If you value your lives you will leave this territory and never return.' She snarled. The enemy all laughed.

'I am not threatened by the likes of you.' One said to her as he walked toward her. 'I'm only going to ask this once. If you tell me what I want to know, I may let you live.' The vaporeon glared at the aparrent leader. 'Where are the kit's?'

'I will never tell you scums where my family is.' The vaporeon snarled deeply. The lead mightyena shook his head disapprovingly.

'She was so beautiful...' He said as the rest of the wolf pokemon advanced on her. A slightly more lean looking Tif came out of a tree line from a vicious battle. He saw the mightyena and the trapped vaporeon and his heart nearly burst.

'Loka' he whispered in panic as he then dashed off toward them. It seemed like ages before he reached the spot, and by then he was too late. There she lay on the ground, motionless. Tif's breathing deepened and sped up. What have they done?

'Loka!' He yelled as he neared her lifeless body. 'Loka, no!' Tif's mind quickly went to her mate, Xen and her young kit, Lo. He took responsibility for the vaporeon and promised to keep her safe. He failed. Xen was going to hate him now. 'I failed you! I failed all of you! I should be the one dead!' A primal anger swelled inside him. At that moment, he hated every mightyena. He snarled viciously and dashed off in search for his prey-

"It was all my fault..." Tif thought to himself. That sadness that was hidden inside him, came back to the surface. This eevee. Lar. Why was she tormenting him? Why was she forcing him to remember all of these terrible memories? To relive the past? The umbreon turned to the two pokemon following him and snarled.

"I will tell you no more!" He bellowed. Even though he wasn't speaking to Dihn, the young shinx felt his anger. Dihn had never seen Tif so angry before. "I am not returning to my pack! You will do so on your own! If you do not leave now then I will not hold back!" Lar jumped in fright at the Umbreon's words. She knew now that there was no changing his mind and that made her sad. Tif saw her eyes. They were... Brown. Why did he notice only that? A color nearly all eevee are born with. But there was something different about hers. Something... Familiar.

Dihn walked in between the two and spoke.

"I think we should go, Lar." he said as he looked to Tif. There was almost disappointment in the shinx's eyes, but there was a greater look of understanding. Though he didn't know how he would explain this to his pack, bringing Lar to his elders was the only thing he could do to help her. Lar looked at him and reluctantly nodded. She then looked back to Tif who had turned away from them.

"Thank you... for saving me.." She whispered as though she had meant to say something else entirely. The shinx and eevee then turned and walked away. Tif was left alone with his thoughts. What just happened? In a matter of one late morning, his past had caught up with him in the form of an eevee. One that brought an odd feeling of familiarity to him? Why? Who was she to him? His mind raced as he lowly made his way back to his den.

Dihn walked with Lar. Such an unexpected turn of events. Not only was his visit with his only friend cut short, now he has company to escort home. He looked to Lar and saw that she was sad. Her ears drooped and she walked slowly. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? How was he going to look to the others at home? What would they do to her? These thoughts bothered him. The more he looked at her, it seemed the sadder she became. What should he say? What could he say? He's never had anyone to talk with before and cheering someone up was not even close to a strong skill. He could hardly make himself happy when feeling down except for going to hear Tif's stories. He had to say something to her. He took a deep breath and said the first thing that came to mind.

"What is your name?" The second the last word left his mouth, he felt incredibly embarrassed. Lar looked at him a bit confused. He felt his yellow cheeks flushed so hard that he swore that they were red as a Pikachu's. He decided to not say anything anymore, but was surprised when he heard a small giggle coming from the young eevee. He looked at her and say a slight smile. Her laugh made him feel better about his question although he still had a strong embarrassed twist in his stomach.

"Is that what he's always like?..." She asked in a sudden serious tone. Dihn didn't have to look at her to know that she was sad again.

"No. He's a really good pokemon." Dihn said as confident as he could. Seeing how he pushed away the idea of helping Lar, Dihn wondered about Tif. "He's the only friend I have and... I don't know why he won't help you." Lar stayed silent. Dihn knew she would grow sad again, but he was at a loss of words again. The conversation quickly died and they walked in silence. With nothing else said, they listened to the sounds of the forest. Minus the sounds of the chirping of bug pokemon and flapping of wings from pidgey and spearow taking flight, the trees were quiet. Suddenly a sound broke the near dead silence. Dihn looked about confused. He looked to Lar who was blushing as she slowed her walk. Dihn then realized what the sound was and smiled.

"Kinda hungry?" He asked the flushed faced eevee. She stopped completely and blushed even harder. "Don't worry we're almost there. We have plenty of food where I li-"

"Don't bother!" Called a voice from ahead. Dihn and Lar looked to see a luxio and two other shinx coming toward them. Dihn frowned as he realized who was approaching them. The team stopped in front of them and they all had cold smirks on their faces. Lar looked at Dihn and saw his serious expression. She began to growl lowly. I see you made at least one friend after sneaking off." The luxio mocked.

"What do you want, Kinh'e?" Dihn asked impatiently. The two other shinx snickered at him.

"The elders don't want you in the clan anymore." Kinh'e said with a grin. "They say youre too distant and you cant be trusted. That you're dangerous to the rest of us." Dihn felt his heart sink, but quickly thought.

"That's a lie!" he blurted aloud.

"I agree.." kinh'e said as he sat down and closed his eyes. "You're to weak to be dangerous to anyone. You couldn't even hurt a caterpie if you tried..." The shinx behind the luxio laughed at the stupid insult. Lar looked at them and they stopped mid laugh. Seeing that she was just an eevee, they laughed even harder. Kinh'e eyed her. "I've gotta admit though Dihn, she's actually pretty cute. Even for you. What did you do, save her from a beedril attack or something?" Lar blushed angrily.

"Shut up!" She barked. "What do you want from us anyway?!" The luxio looked a bit surprised at the young eevee's voice. He and the other two shinx began to slowly circle them.

"I don't want anything from... YOU.." Kinh'e started. "I just want to make sure this freak never comes back to our territory." Dihn didn't move. Lar noticed his silence and looked at him. She saw that he was trembling and had an angry stare aimed at the ground. She could feel a bit of static coming from him. Was he afraid? Was he angry? What was he going to do?

"Look! He's scared stiff!" One of the other shinx said with a laugh.

"That's good.. That makes it more fun for me!" kinh'e then dashed at Dihn. Lar jumped out of the way, but Dihn didn't move. Kinh'e collided against Dihn's side and knocked him several feet away. Dihn rolled to a stop and slowly got to his feet. With a pained cough, he spoke.

"I wont fight you Kinh'e... I cant... I..." Kinh'e laughed and charged him again, ending with the same results. Lar watched in shock. What was he thinking? Why wouldn't he fight back? She wanted to help him but the Luxio was too big and seemed much stronger than her.

Kinh'e stood over Dihn as the shinx tried to stand again.

"Is that all? Come on! Show me some of that dark magic you've been practicing whenever you would sneak off." He mocked.

"Dihn fight back!" Lar called. The other shinx stood in front of her and blocked her off.

"You really don't want to him come after you little eevee." One said to her. "She looked at him and saw a grim smile. But there was something else there. It was fear. Not of Kinh'e. Were they afraid of Dihn? She looked back to the fight. Dihn was getting up again and Kinh'e was readying to attack again. By the looks of the battle, if Dihn gets hit one more time he was going to faint.

"Okay... Fine by me." Kinh'e said as he charged one last time. Before he could connect his final blow, a dark blur flashed in front of him and pushed him away making the luxio roll into a tree. kinh'e Steadied his vision only to see an Umbreon staring back at him. Lar was just as surprised to see Tif again. Why was he here? The luxio's eyes widened in terror.

"Y-you really are... You're friends with an evil pokemon!" Kinh'e stammered. Tif stood straight as his rings began to glow, giving him a malevolent appearance. The other two shinx shook in fear as they watched on. Tif slowly approached Kinh'e and stood over him.

"Leave.." He simply stated. Kinh'e stumbled to his feet and sprinted off towards the way he came. Tif shifted his look to the two shinx and saw only a couple of fluttering leaves and a confused Lar who was trying to find them. Dihn struggled to his feet only to slump back down.

"Are you alright?" Tif asked him. Dihn looked up at he umbreon and suddenly felt a powerful surge channel through him. The mark on his back emitted a purple static and the shinx quickly looked away. He looked up to Tif. He was the only friend he had. But thinking back to what he said to Lar, he felt angry with him.

"I'm fine.." Dihn replied. Lar came over to them and helped Dihn to his feet.

"Why didn't you fight back?" She asked. Dihn looked grim.

"If I would,ve fought him, I probably would have hurt them." Lar looked confused. Dihn looked at her and explained. I'm different from the others in my pride. I was born with a dark power that I can't control. If I get angry it hurts everyone around me. I don't even know what its called.." Lar understood now. "I don't want to talk about it anymore please..." He then looked at Tif and asked. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier. I felt that I was out of line. Forgive me." Tif lowered his body apologetically. Lar felt a glimmer of hope.

"So now what?" Lar started. "Dihn is hurt and I cant carry him."

"I will escort you home."

"Does that mean you will help me find my friends?" Tif hesitated.

"We will see where things go from here.." That was all Lar needed to hear. As far as she was concerned, she was getting through to him. "Lets get you home, Dihn, Where you can rest." Tif somehow got Dihn on his back and carried him as Lar followed close behind. She kept an eye out as they traveled and wondered how her friends were doing. Were they alright? They must be afraid and Lar was the only one that escaped. Kilki was ,ore like a message to Lo and the pack, but did they find her yet? All these things flooded her thoughts and as she wandered through them, Dihn thought of what the elders would do when they saw an umbreon waltz into their territory with him on his back and an unknown eevee behind them. Their suspicions would only prove true if only in their minds. They may not even think that tere was a proper explanation. The further they walked, the more nervous he became. What was he going to do?

end of chapter 3.

There finished. That was a long one and I'm... Actually not that proud... Psych. Once again, sorry for the delay. I'm still working on separation, and I now have to start from eleven and remember what happened after it. Losing that flash drive made me kind of hesitant on continuing, but, the show must go on. I will try my best to remember the later chapters and keep this one going in the mean time. So just review, tell me your thoughts, what you liked what you didn't like anything. I'm a big boy. I can take criticism. Don't hold back either. At the end of the day, I'm still gonna write. Including this story. I'm also open to suggestions and ideas.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Pokémon related material belong to their respective owners

Chapter 4

Lo and Yan made it back to the pack area with Kilki in tow. The younger eevee still had a nervous expression and trembled as though she expected something to snatch her away at any time. Lo was still trying to process how all of this happened and how quickly it had. The kits were with her therefore making them her responsibility. Now they are gone and the only one left is probably too shaken up to remember exact details about who attacked them. The more she thought of it, the stronger her guilt became, threatening to overwhelm her with panic. Yan seemed to have picked up on her new stress and was trying his best to comfort her. With things this bad, how were they ever going to face the elders of the pack? Children were precious in the pack, and losing just one was enough to cause a wide spread of panic. Four were missing and according to Kilki, they were kidnapped by a ghost Pokémon. She could only imagine what kind of chaos this would bring and the one thing that she was sure of and that never left her mind was that it was her fault. What was she going to do?

Soon they reached the spot where the ceremony of stones were to take place. Ayra was still there along with a clever looking leafeon and an intense looking houndoom. Lo and yan stopped as they looked at he young eevees approach. With her being nervous at its peak, Lo began to shake with anticipation for what she was in for. The houndoom looked back to Ayra and the leafeon and nodded before turning and walking away. Lo felt a string of relief flow through her.

"Back from your game, Lo?" Ayra asked as she slowly walked towards the eevees. Yan looked to Lo and she looked back. He gave a reassuring nod that didn't really accomplish its job. Lo tried to nod as well but only turned back to Ayra who was now in front of her.

"Something... S-Something happened.." Lo spoke nervously.

"Oh?" Ayra hummed. The leafeon came up behind her.

"Kilki and the other kits were a-attacked and the others were taken." Ayra's eyes widened and so did the leafeon's. "I'm sorry..."

"Are you certain, child?!" The leafeon asked. His voice light and full of worry. Lo looked at him and nodded. The leafeon turned to Ayra. "Lady Ayra, the houndoom spoke of something like this happening but I never expected it to be so soon." Ayra had a grim look on her face and that only added to Lo's anxiety. Suddenly her expression turned calm and she looked to the leafeon.

"Hano, gather the members of the elder council. Tell them it is an emergency that cannot wait. I will meet with you and them in the Sacred tree." Without question, the leafeon sprang off to accomplish his mission. Ayra looked to Lo, Yan and Kilki. "Kilki, what was it that attacked you?" The young eevee came from behind Lo and yan and softly spoke.

"It was a mean ghost." Ayra was starting to grow restless.

"Did you see what it looked like? Anything?"

"It had a scar under its eye. How does a ghost get a scar anyway?" Kilki said with sudden curiosity. Ayra sighed.

"I feared this would happen. I thought that I would never see him again." Yan and Lo looked at each other I confusion.

"What do you mean, Ayra?" Lo asked.

"I will explain later. It is a matter that now involves the three of you as well as the rest of the pack." Ayra stood to walk away. "I want all of you to come with me to the sacred tree. You have a story to tell. Lo and Yan had never been to the sacred tree before. It was a place that only the elders went to, and even they rarely went themselves. What was so important that they had to go there? If it has Ayra of all pokemon worked up over it, then it must be more serious than just a kidnapping.

Ayra knew exactly who Kilki had just described. A ghost pokemon that forever haunted her memories of those terrible times. His name still fresh in her mind of when she had met him. Sain. Though he was still in the dark corners of her mind, the only pokemon that was clear in her mind's eye was the Umbreon that hated him. Her younger brother, Tif. Where could he have gone? If things were going as she thought they were, she was going to need him. Badly./

Xen awoke to his daughter gone and the den being empty. He was used to it by now. Lo would usually disappear and go to be with her friend Yan. It didn't bother him. He knew yan and what kind of pokemon he was. He was a good pokemon and Lo's friend. He saw how much she trusted him and didn't worry about him hurting her. In all the time that they've been friends, she didn't seem to have any problems with Yan, so in a way, The young eevee had earned Xen's trust as well. He stretched and gave a long yawn to wake his senses. He could still smell the rain clouds that passed earlier that day, even from inside the moist den. He must have slept longer than he thought because it was mid day. He walked outside and breathed in the fresh spring air. There was a feeling that all creation knew when this season occurred every year. A feeling that couldn't be explained no matter how hard one may try, but it was familiar to all. A sense of renew and peace that flows with the wind and ruffled the wild jolteon's fur. He instinctively lifted his nose in the air in an attempt to absorb as much of the feeling as he could.

"Hi Xen." A female voice greeted. Xen opened his eyes and looked to see a glaceon smiling and walking past him.

"Oh hi, Pelica. Visiting from the mountains?" Pelica nodded as she stopped in front of Xen. Pelica was a glaceon that chose to stay in the mountains of snow point when she evolved. She began learning about the different types and what different effects they had on certain pokemon. Being from a pack that had so many types only helped her studies. Topping that, she was as free spirited as a leafeon, so she didn't mind doing what she felt to learn something new. She and Xen had become friends after He lost his mate, Loka and after Tif had disappeared. She knew nothing could make up for losing two people so close and wouldn't try to either. That didn't however stop her from attempting to show him feelings she had toward him. She then suddenly moved forward and nuzzled him. The action caught the jolteon off guard and he released a tiny wave of electricity.

"What are you doing?!" He gasped. Pelica giggled and moved away from him. Xen could see a small spark dance across her sleek and frosty fur as she smiled triumphantly.

"I always wanted to see if that would work." she said as she absorbed the last of the remaining static. Xen looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Xen asked still feeling a little surprised at what Pelica just did. A flareon walked by them and Pelica quickly raised a paw and gave him a little jolt. He jumped and turned to glare at her.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to shock you." She giggled. The flareon looked from her to Xen with a bit of confusion. Xen shrugged having no clue of what she was doing. The flareon then slowly turned and walked away, keeping an eye on the still giggling glaceon as he went.

"Okay.. That was for..." Xen started. Pelica turned to him.

"Its static, silly!" She blurted. "I was experimenting and it worked." Obviously it failed, but she didn't feel the need to tell him that. She thought that he may have shown a little more appeal to her attempt, but she was wrong. She was happy that she could play it off so well. She giggled again. Xen shook his head in amusement.

Suddenly the two evolutions watched a leafeon rush past them. Just as quickly as it had gone, it came back and stopped on front of them.

"Xen! You have to come with me!" He gasped. Xen was yet again caught off guard at the suddenness.

"Well hello to you too, Hano.."Pelica said, feeling ignored. Hano looked at her and then back to Xen. She gave a loud humph and turned her head away from him.

"What for, Hano? Is something wrong?" Xen asked.

"It's Lo. Ayra asked her Yan and A younger eevee to the sacred tree. I think you should come too." Xen's heart pounded. Pelica looked at Hano and then to Xen.

"Lo?! Is she alright? What happened?" Xen asked

"I'll explain on the way. Right now we must go!" Xen nodded as the leafeon took off toward where the tree was. Xen bounded off after him.

"Im coming too!" Pelica announced as she followed behind them. What was happening with Lo that she was summoned to the Sacred Tree? What could have happened? Is she hurt? What about Yan and the younger eevee? What was going on?/

Lo and the others followed Ayra to an enormous tree that reached up and seemed to pierce the clouds. The branches were large enough to hold whole families of eevee on them. Had it not been for the fact that they were much too high to be reached easily, that could have been the case for this pack. The limbs stretched out and covered a large part of the forest and towered over smaller trees. The giant leaves held white flower buds that were barely opening and still had a bit of green on their base. At the bottom of the tree were roots that emerged from the ground. The way they came up formed a large area that came around and made out what was used as a gathering place. This was where the elders came. Lo and Kilki gasped at the size of the place and the looked equally astounded. They all felt so small next to it. Though they lived so close to the tree, they were never allowed to come this close to it as it was a place that was sacred and only the head members of the pack could come here.

Ayra lead them past the gathering area to a large hole in the tree that looked like an entrance. It was the size of a nidoking and inside was nearly pitch dark. Lo and Yan walked beside each other and Kilki walked closely behind Lo. She has been close to Lo since she found her in that cage and wasn't leaving any time soon. As they approached, Ayra stopped and turned back to the three eevee. They all stopped in front of her. Ayra lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"I fear the outcome of this situation." She said as she looked up to them. Their looks of awe turned into looks of concern and fear. "I hope that I am wrong about what is coming. If not then I meant that this will involve the entire pack." When she said that, Lo felt that she was talking directly to her. Ayra shook her head slightly. "Forgive me, little ones. I don't mean to frighten you. Please follow me." The espeon then proceeded in the tree. The three eevee looked at each other. Kilki looked to Lo.

"What does she mean, Lo?" She asked. Lo could see that she was afraid. Given how Lo had found her and the fact that the other young ones were kidnapped, who could blame her? The question was where were they taken and why? Yan had the same questions as Lo. What was happening? What was going to happen? Lo looked into Kilki's eyes and tried to find an answer for her. Something to assure her that she was safe. That there was nothing to worry about. But Even with the ceremony of stones so close by, she was still young. The only answer that she could come up with was:

"I don't know.." Kilki shuddered and looked at the tree.

"Well. Here goes-" Yan started.

"Lo!" Someone called from behind them. The three turned to see Hano, Xen and Pelica rushing toward them. Lo felt a strong sense of relief wash over her when she saw her dad. A strong sense of protection. She felt safe. Xen had a look of worry on his face.

"Lo, are you alright?" He asked as he and the others approached. She nodded. Han and Pelica stopped beside him and looked to the sacred tree.

"I take it that Ayra is inside?" Hano asked. Lo nodded again. Kilki still behind her, Xen looked at the grey eevee and realized that this was who Hano was talking about. He remembers her from the talk from the others in the pack of how rare it was to find an eevee with her fur. Especially a girl given the eevee gender ratio. She was actually quite popular among the pack even without her knowing. The kit seemed really attached to Lo and peeked at him from behind her.

"Well we should meet her. We have much to discuss when the elders arrive." With that, The six pokemon proceeded into the tree. Inside was enormous. The tree's walls had what seemed like stairs that spiraled to the top. Above the stairs were torches that mustve been lit by a flareon. But even with the flames light, the inside was still dark. They could see, but they couldn't make out any specific details other than how the tree's inside walls seemed to be carved and twisted up in the opposite direction of the stairs. Under their feet was some type of moss that tickled their paw pads. It was so soft that Lo couldn't help but smile at the feeling. Yan smiled at the openness of the closed area. It seemed to be bigger than the outside of the tree, which seemed impossible. How could all of this fit in here? Pelica gasped at the inside and felt it to be an art form. There was clearly something sacred about this place, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what it is. Hano had never been inside, but with Ayra, he was given a really vivid description of what it looked like. Still he was amazed at what he saw. Kilki stuck close to Lo for fear of getting lost inside and Xen, though he admired the sight, kept his attention to Lo and what happened while she was gone.

They all walked up the spiral stairs in search of Ayra. She must have been waiting at the top for them. Hano lead the way as the rest followed. It took several minutes before they finally reached the top and found Ayra sitting in what seemed to be a designated place for her. There were three more of these spots that were obviously for the rest of the elders. Four elders. Everyone would tend to forget that Ayra was an elder. She rarley shows that she is one, so one could hardly tell. The other elders were usually off greeting the north and south packs. When they were home, they were only around for a short time before setting out again or at their dens resting from their last journey. No one in the pack really saw them for long. That actually explained why even they rarely came to the sacred tree. They were well respected and looked up to however. Luckily they were home these days. Great timing for the events that just occurred.

Ayra greeted them all as they approached her.

"Welcome to the sacred tree. Forgive the dust." She joked. Hano walked over to her and sat beside her spot.

"The elders are on their way." He said. She nodded.

"Well I was already here..." A voice said from the darkness. Everyone looked in a dark corner to see an Umbreon emerge from the shadows in a very in character way. Kilki whimpered a bit and pushed herself into lo's fur.

"As usual, You make quite a disturbing entrance Sake." Ayra said with her eyes closed.

"I missed you too.." Sake said in a bored dark type voice. He then walked to one of the empty spots and sat himself. Yan looked at the umbreon with fascination. He would usually do that with the other umbreon in the pack. It was clear that he saw them with Tif in mind. Sake looked at the group off eevee evolutions that were in front of him.

"This must be important if there are so many here. What exactly happened?" Ayra looked at him and simply said:

"Sain." Sake looked at her in shock. Sain must've been a really big deal. Who was he? Ayra then nodded to Lo and Kilki and Sake looked himself. Lo felt his eyes and soon she felt everyone else's as well. They were all waiting for her to speak. With a nervous and guilt filled sigh, she told them what happened and how she and yan found Kilki. As she went over the story, Sake and Ayra would give an occasional nod to assure her that they were listening. When she finished her side, Kilki shyly told her part. Of course she had a longer story because she witnessed her friends being taken. She told he what Sain looked like and even which way he floated away towards.

"He said that I was a message to you." She finished. There was silence for a moment. Sake looked at Ayra whose expression only grew more and more grim. The elder umbreon sighed. He then looked at Lo again.

"Lo. Have you decided your evolution yet?" Lo looked to Ayra who gave a nod. She wasn't entirely sure that she should tell him about her feelings towards evolving. She remembered the talk she had with the espeon only hours ago. That guilt from earlier was coming back. She looked at Xen who was waiting for an answer as well. He knew what she felt, though not entirely. Even her best friend Yan didn't understand. What should she say? She inhaled and closed her eyes.

"No.." There was another long silence.

"No?" Sake said with a bit of surprise. "As in you haven't decided, correct?"

"No. As in I don't want to make a choice." Lo kept her eyes closed, afraid of how everyone would look at her.

"What are you saying?"

"I don't want to evolve. I want to stay an eevee." She slowly opened her eyes and saw everyone waching her. Yan and Xen both had mixed expressions. Sake had a look of complete disbelief. Hano looked back and forth between Sake and Ayra who had a proud grin on her face. Lo felt a bit better that she finally told everyone her true feelings.

"Well this is... Quite unheard of." The umbreon said. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Why not support her decision?" Ayra said. Sake looked at her.

"Well I... I just.. Um... Well Its not for me alone to decide." Ayra giggled at his blubbering. That made everyone else chuckle as well, making the umbreon blush a bit.

"I've never seen an eevee not want to evolve. They're usually excited about these things." Sake was truly confused about this and that really seemed to amuse Ayra.

"Sake is correct. Its unheard of.." Said a voice from behind everyone. They all looked to see a flareon and a vaporeon coming from the stairs.

"Nice of you to join us, Kose." Ayra said as two eeveelutions walked around the group and took the remaining two spots. The flareon seemed intense and angry even. Lo felt heat coming from him. The Vaporeon seemed much more kind than the flareon. She shook her head at the heavy entrance that her partner had made.

"Is this the emergency, Ayra?" The Vaporeon asked. Ayra shook her head.

"Im afraid the young one's decision may be the least of our worries, Tear." Ayra said. The flareon was watching Lo who shrunk down, feeling as vulnerable as Kilki. Ayra explained the situation to Tear and Kose. They both sighed.

"It sounds like it was her responsibility to care for the kits and obviously failed." Kose said with little emotion. Lo felt hurt. "And it only seems to add selfishness seeing how she doesn't want evolve for the pack." Lo shrunk even more. She knew how someone would reject the idea of her choice. Even with Ayra's support, the others didn't seem to feel the same way the espeon elder did. She felt alone.

"Thats enough, Kose." Sake said. The flareon glared at him. Sake didn't flinch. "She has enough to worry about. We must make a plan."

"I spoke with Rome from the houndoom pack earlier." Ayra started. "He told me that there were happenings near their territory. They are preparing for the worst. I feel that we should do the same." The elders nodded in agreement.

"What should _we_ do?" Pelica asked.

"I apologize that you had to return to a troubling time, Pelica. But we need you. If you choose to stay, then you should ready yourselves for anything. We will need a team to find the kits."

"I want to go!" Yan blurted. Everyone looked at him. Kose smiled nearly coldly.

"Admirable. But you haven't evolved yet. As you are, you would only get in the way. You are no use as an eevee." Once again, Lo felt that he was talking to her. Yan frowned and wanted to protest but Xen held him back.

"I will go." The jolteon said. Lo and Pelica gasped. What was he doing?

"Are you sure?" Tear asked. Xen looked at Lo who had a worried and fearful expression.

"Yes." The elders all nodded. "Fine. We will leave it to you to assemble your team. We will help you if you need it." Xen nodded. With that, they all left the tree. Lo and Yan helped Kilki find her den and told her parents what happened. They didn't tell them of the meeting with the elders though. They thanked them as they left. Yan walked Lo back to her den. As they walked, there was silence between them. Now that Yan knew what was bothering Lo and how she felt about evolving, he didn't know what to say. She was obviously upset about what Kose had said. Though neither of them liked the flareon, Yan couldn't help but wonder: What if he was right?

They both came to her den and said their goodbyes. There was such a heavy air about them that they had trouble even doing that. Yan left and Lo went inside. Xen and Pelica were waiting for her. Lo had nearly forgotten about Pelica. She didn't even greet her when they all arrived at the sacred tree.

"Hi Lo." Pelica said as cheerful as she could. Lo remained silent.

"Are you alright, Lo?" Xen asked. Lo felt her eyes swell. She didn't answer. Instead, she tried to go to her room. "Lo." Xen called sternly. The young eevee stopped. "Tell me what is bothering you."

"Im fine..." She said unconvincingly.

"Thats not the truth and you know it."

"Dad, please.." Her voice was cracking now. She was trying to hold back.

"Lo, I am here for you-"

"Are you!?" The eevee barked as she turned to him, tears running down and soaking her fur. Xen was surprised at her outburst. "You just stood there! You just let him say those things to me! And now you're leaving me! How are you here for me, dad?!" Pelica watched in shock as Lo let out her feelings. "It was all my fault. They were with me and I let them get taken. Now I can't even help get them back... Now you're going to clean up my mess.." Xen rushed over and nuzzled the stressed kit. She bawled into his fur. Though he was there, she still felt alone. This was a terrible feeling. it was too much. Too much for her to handle.

She then pushed herself from Xen's fur and bolted out of the den.

"Lo!" The jolteon called. Lo ran. She ran as fast as she could. As far as she could. Tears flowed from her eyes as she blindly sprinted ahead. She ran until her legs could move no more. Her paws bled and her limbs were sore, though that was nothing compared to how she felt at that moment. So much guilt. So much betrayal. So much confusion. Her heart ached Was this all for her choice to stay an eevee? Was she wrong? She felt so alone. So alone.

End of chapter 4

Sorry about not posting. A lot has been going on and its kinda hard to do so many things at once. I am still writing for this fic and its actually growing on me more and more. Thanks for your patience. Enjoy. Please review and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Pokemon related material belong to their respective owners

I've been writing like crazy, guys. After going from 240 to 282 views in only one day, I felt the urge to keep writing. You guys must really like this story. I wish I could say the same for Separation, but thats different. So while I have the ideas flowing, I will continue to write for you guys. Hope you remember Tif, Dihn and Lar. Enjoy

Chapter 5

Tif and Lar could see the tracks left by the luxio and the two shinx with him, making it fairly easy to find Dihn's home. During their walk, the two didn't speak much. Lar would look his way from time to time only to see if Dihn was alright. He still seemed exhausted from his battle from earlier. Adding to the fact that he chose not to fight back made Lar wonder of he was telling the truth about his condition. Was that really the case, or was he too afraid to defend himself? Lar shook her head. That wasn't the right way to think. But even Tyro would admit when he was afraid, even in front of the rest of the eevee kits. Dihn was a different species however. Maybe they're sense of pride was more extreme than an eevee. The eevee remembered Tif. She looked at him. He seemed to be deep in thought as he walked,careful not to let the exhausted shinx fall. She wondered if he really would help her find her friends now. He came to help her and Dihn against those bullies. Maybe he would help her. But those things he said to her. How he couldn't return to the pack. How he wasn't a hero. He saved her not only once, but twice today. Isn't that what heroes did? Help others in need?

"Lar." The eevee heard. She looked at Tif and saw that he was looking at her.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Tell me. Is the pack doing well?" The eevee thought about it. As far as she could tell, everyone was fine. She couldn't remember if anything was wrong in the pack. There was the ceremony of stones coming up, but that didn't really call for too much worry.

"I think so..." She nearly whispered. Tif smiled. He still seemed pained about something. Lar wondered what it could be. "Do you want to go back with me?" Tif's expression hardened.

"I cannot."

"Why not?" She said nearly whining. Tif looked at her.

"I have my reasons. You will not understand if I told you. You are still young." Lar huffed making him smile a bit. She was definitely still young. There was another tone of familiarity he saw in her. He recognized her, but how? What could it be?

The three made it to what seemed to be Dihn's home territory. There was an electrical buzz in the air and they could feel it in their fur. The trees were thinning in number and the area became more open. The grass seemed to shimmer under the sun as the wind softly rolled over their blades. A sight that made Lar extremely nervous was.. Human dens. The large houses were in sight, but much too far for any of the native pokemon to be disturbed by their 'trainers'. Still, Lar had never seen anything that was human before. She felt a fear creep into her. A kind that she had never felt before. She knew that the humans were far stronger than everyone in her pack. They had strange round rocks that trapped pokemon. From the stories she was told, if you get caught by one, you were brain washed inside and forced to fight other pokemon so the humans could laugh at you. Lar hated the thought of pokemon being captured against their will. Who could do such a terrible thing? What did pokemon ever do to humans?

Tif saw a group of Luxray in a gathering that was hidden behind a hill, securing their safety from the humans' capture rocks. He looked to Lar who was still focused on the distant and far human world.

"Lar. Are you coming?" He asked. The young shiny eevee snapped out of her trance and nodded. With a sigh, Tif proceeded with Lar and Dihn on his back to the group of Electric types. The closer they got to them, the more nervous Lar became. If this is what Dihn was to evolve into, then he would be a powerful Pokemon. They spotted them far before they came close and sent two luxury to meet them. They all stopped about midway to the group and stared. The silence was long and the only noise was the occasional breeze through the grass and far off trees. One finally spoke, his voice deep and demanding:

"I see that you found Dihn." Tif nodded. Lar hid behind the umbreon and peeked at them from behind him. This was how she truly was. Shy and quiet. Especially now that her friends weren't with her. The only reason she was more open earlier was because of that luxio and two shinx. But these luxray weren't them. They were far bigger and much more intimidating. Lar knew she wouldn't want to speak up against them, so she would stay quiet and leave the talking to Tif. For an odd reason, she felt comfortable with that.

"He was bullied by three young ones from this pack." Tif said. "He refused to fight them." The two luxray looked at each other. "It was Kinh'e." The other said in a just as equally deep voice. That luxio must have been more known for being mischievous than thought.

"I suppose you want some kind of reward for bringing him home." Tif frowned. Quite a warm welcome for one of their own. Lar frowned as well.

"No. I was making sure he made it home safely. He could use some attention." The two luxray nodded.

"My name is Honh. This is my brother, Tinoh." The first luxray introduced. "Come with us. We will take you to one of our elders." They then turned away and proceeded back towards where the group was. As they walked they could see that the hill that hid them was fairly large. At the base of it was a small creek that had many of the electric felines' evolutions near it. They were all lounging and absorbing the suns warmth as they welcomed the season, much like the eevee packs would do. Lar could see trees that the pokemon were under and that they were being used much like the eevee used the trees in the forest. Some of the young shinx were tumbling out from inside them as they wrestled and played together. The young eevee felt her heart sink as she remembered her friends. Tif seemed to have that same feeling of longing as he drew closer and closer to the luxray pride. Several of them watched as the new comers strolled through their territory. Some had looks of curiosity and awe as they had never seen an umber before. Others had expressions of fear and some were even hate. They weren't only looking at Tif and Lar, but at Dihn as well. The same intensity aimed at him. Why were they staring at them so hatefully?

"You'll have to excuse them. We don't usually have guests, so its hard to trust ostrangers."

"Of course not." Tif replied. Lar made sure to stay near him. She didn't like it here. There was something about these pokemon. Something decietful. Especially the two leading them now.

"Keep calm, Lar." Tif said to her. She looked at him, but he kept his eyes forward. "I do not trust these pokemon. I need you to stay near me, alright?" Lar nodded. Tif must have felt it as well. It wasnt just her. That made her all the more nervous.

The two luxray lead them to a tall tree that was overlooking the creek. Under it was a much larger and intimidating luxray. He was lying down and lifted his heavy head to watch the visitors approach him. Honh and Tinoh turned to Tif and Lar.

"This is one of our pride elders. The others are not.. Here at the moment." Tif frowned a bit. "He will thank you properly for returning Dihn to us." Tif looked at the two luxray and nodded. Tinoh and Honh then left and Tif and Lar was alone with the elder.

"What is your name, umbreon?" He asked in an aged and wisdom filled voice. Tif stepped forward a bit and introduced himself:

"My name is Tif, from the eastern eevee pack." Lar looked at him. He just claimed the pack. Did that mean he really was going to return to them? Her mind began to race, but she calmed herself and looked back to the elder.

"And the little one?"

"Her name is Lar. She also comes from the eastern pack." The luxray leaned in to see Lar better. She shyly shrunk behind Tif, trying not to be seen. The elder smiled.

"Interesting color she has." He said. "Must be very rare for one to have a coat such as hers." Lar blushed at the luxray's words.

"Tif..." She complained. Tif looked at her and back to the elder.

"I escorted this young shinx back here. He was attacked by a few of the young ones from here." The elder saw Dihn on Tif's back. He was still out cold. He has been unconscious for quite some time and Lar was starting to get worried.

"Bring him to me, quickly." Tif approached the luxray and laid Dihn down in font of him. He looked at the shinx.

"He is trying to contain it." The elder said. Tif and Lar both looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Dihn was born with a strange gift. His electric abilities can be focused to a degree stronger than any other of this pack. Though it is a strength, it also consumes him. It is as if it has a mind of its own. We do not know what to call this." Lar looked to Dihn and she could see that he appeared to be struggling. Thats why he didnt fight back against kinh'e. What was going to happen to him?

"Can you help him?" The eevee asked worriedly. The elder looked to her.

"We aren't sure that what we do helps him, but it appears to have a positive effect on him."

"What do you do?" Tif asked.

"We charge him." Tif and Lar looked confused. "What ever this is that afflicts him is appeared to feed on his negativity. So many members of this pack fear him because of what he is capable of, and that leads them to nearly hate him." Lar looked horrified. "With so much negative emotions directed at him, he shuns everyone who approaches him. It only helps the power and slowly takes away part of himself." Lar looked at Dihn. He still seemed to be struggling to hold back his power. She felt so sad for him. Having to live with others hating you for something you had no control over. What a terrible way to live. She felt tears swell in her eyes.

"When we charge him, it appears to rid all of his negative emotions for that time. They eventually return, thus making it an endless cycle." Tif spoke:

"How do you do this 'charging'?" He asked.

"Simple." the elder said. He then stood over the young shinx. He kneeled slightly and strands of electricity began to crackle through his fur. The luxray began to growl lowly and the more he charged, the louder his voice grew. The electricity grew stronger. Tif and the young eevee could feel their skin vibrate from the intensity of the discharge. Suddenly, the elder roared and a bright yellow bolt shot from him down to the shinx underneath him. Dihn stayed on the ground and absorbed the electric 'charge'. With each passing moment, the luxray elder seemed to grow weaker. Soon the he stopped the bolt and backed away, exhausted from his actions. Tif and Lar both looked at him with confusion and shock. Dihn then groaned and opened his eyes as electricity danced across the fur on his body. He saw Lar and Tif come up to him.

"Are you alright, Dihn?" Lar asked worried. Dihn looked to her and then to Tif. He then looked over to see The elder laying himself down. The shinx gasped and bolted over to him.

"Elder! Did you charge me by yourself?!" He blurted. The luxray slowly nodded, still catching his breath. "Why!? You didn't have to do th-"

"I did it because I chose to, Dihn." Dihn began to breathe heavy.

"Grandpa..." He sniffled. "What about you? Will you be okay?" He asked near tears. Lar and Tif could see that Dihn didn't want the luxray to charge him. Was it for health reasons?

"Don't worry yourself, Dihn. I'll be fine. I'm more concerned for your well being than my own." If the elder would have told the young shinx the truth, if he would have told him that thea others in the pride refused to charge him again, he didn't know how he would take it. This was for the best. This was for him. The two pokemon he was with seemed trustworthy and he was glad that Dihn had made some friends. He goes through enough with his own pack. The last thing he needed was more pokemon who rejected him. This could only help him.

"Tif. Lar." The elder said. "My name is Roghan. I want to thank you for bringing my grandson back to me." Tif nodded. So did Lar. "You two must be exhausted from your journey. Please rest here. We have plenty for eevee to enjoy." Roghan then looked to Dihn and spoke:

"Please show them to the den. Make them feel comfortable." The young shinx nodded. He nuzzled Roghan and turned from him.

"I'll show you where I live. You can rest with me." Tif and Lar nodded and let Dihn lead the way. Roghan watched them go. He felt his strength slowly ebbing away.

"I'm sorry Dihn. I gave you all that I had left. May Arceus watch over you."/

Dihn had showed Tif and Lar to a hill that had a large hole that lead slant ways downward. Dihn went inside and invited the two pokemon with him in. They both crawled in and found that the den was very spacious. It was like a large room and could easily house at least five luxio inside. There were beds made out of fallen leaves and tall grass from outside. This was much like the dens in the forest. Lar felt right at home inside. Why was this den so similar to the eevees?

"I see you used the way I showed you to make beds, Dihn." Tif spoke as he admired the work of the shinx. Dihn nodded as he lay himself down on one.

"I tried to make the perfect one, but they weren't as comfy as this one." He said. He then looked Lar. "You can lay here.. If you want.." The shinx got up and offered his bed to her. Tif watched the two.

"Um.. No thanks.. I'm fine. Really.." The eevee stammered. She felt her face flush. "I don't want to take your spot..."

"I don't mind.." Dihn said happily. Lar tried to find a reason not to take his offer.

"But... I-I'll get... Cold.." Dihn looked at the bed.

"I don't have anything that will keep you warm.." He said nearly ashamed. "I could... L-lay with you.. To keep warm." The eevee's face flushed entirely red and she looked at Tif. The umbreon pretended not to notice her, turning his eyes outside the entrance. She looked back to Dihn who was waiting for a response, all while avoiding her eyes. She would feel terrible to reject his offer, especially now that she knows how his own pack feels and acts towards him. She felt sorry for him. She couldn't even imagine what he must go through. Kinh'e must be only a small taste.

The eevee slowly padded to the bed of leaves. She looked at Dihn who quickly looked away. She hesitated, but eventually laid herself down. Dihn carefully laid behind her. She shifted a bit, but soon the two Pokemon grew comfortable. Moments later, they were asleep. Tif however didn't sleep. He stayed near the entrance to keep watch. These luxray. He couldn't bring himself to trust them. He looked to Dihn. He and Lar were both sleeping peacefully. It looked like the shinx was calm and resting well. As though he hasn't slept well in so long. How much did he trust this pride? Was he as cautious as Tif everyday? He was so young to have such a burden. Tif sighed. Several hours passed. Tif still didn't sleep. He watched over Dihn and Lar.

"He's dead.." He heard faintly. His ears perked and he became alert. "What should we do about Dihn?" The same voice asked. Who was that? The umbreon stood to investigate. He looked back to the two sleeping Pokemon. He felt a strange sense if protectiveness for them. He then stealthily rushed out of the den. The sky was darker and a glimpse of the sun was all that was left of the day. The night sky was slowly taking over making it easier for Tif to stay out of sight. He made it several feet before seeing Tinoh and Honh. There was also another Pokemon with them. It was standing next to Honh so Tif couldn't see him.

"The shinx could be a problem. He already has everyone here shaken up." Tif listened as he kept low. It was the other Pokemon that was speaking. "Just kill him." Tif's eyes widened. What did he just hear? Who was this Pokemon?

"That's a little extreme." Tinoh said. "He's just a child." The Pokemon that spoke earlier stepped from beside Tinoh and came into view. Tif was horrified at what he saw. It was a mightyena..

Tif turned and quickly made his way back to the den. Lar and Dihn were still asleep. He quickly woke them.

"We must go. Now." He said in a rush. The two yawned.

"What is it, Tif?.." Lar asked drowsily. Tif padded behind them and began to nudge them toward the entrance.

"We don't have much time. We must leave now." The two confused Pokemon were startled by Tif's panic and knew something was wrong. They obeyed and rushed out of the den. Tif followed close behind them but stopped when he saw Dihn and Lar halted in front of him. They were both looking ahead, frozen with fear. Tif looked and saw that in front of them, staring them down was the mightyena from before. Beside him was Tinoh and Honh. Tif jumped in front of the younger Pokemon protectively and glared at the enemy.

"Leaving so soon?" Was all the mightyena said. His voice was deep and menacing. His eyes matched the tone it gave. The children knew all too well. They were held in place by his stare.

"I've been wanting to meet you, Tif. I've heard so much. How bravely you fought against my fallen brothers." The mightyena began to strut forward. "All of your tales so heroically told. I actually found myself very impressed." Tinoh and Honh shuffled behind him uncomfortably. Tif snarled making the wolf Pokemon stop and give a bone chilling grin. "Yes I've heard much. But time never ceases and you're not as young as you used to be. I must say, the years have been good to you." Dihn and Lar made faint whimpers. They wanted to run. So desperately did they try to free themselves from the mightyena's haunting stare, but they were petrified. Tif was imune to the glare, but he knew what the two frightened Pokemon behind him were feeling. Sheer terror.

"I have a little business to take care of with that shinx behind you. Just a little talk."

"You won't come anywhere near him.." The umbreon snarled.

"I have some news for him. Something about his grandfather." Tif looked to the still terrified shinx. He and Lar were both shaking uncontrollably. "Don't you want to know about your dear grandfather, little Dihn?" Tinoh and Honh seemed to be looking down as if ashamed. The Mightyena grinned.

"He's dead.." Tif gasped. Dihn looked horrified. He was lying. He had to be lying. Roghan couldn't be. It wasn't true! "Your grandfather died earlier today. It was very tragic, indeed. But there is something that you should know." Dihn's eyes were bulging with tears as they spilled onto the ground.

"It was because of you." The mightyena finished. Tif snarled at him.

"Shut up!" He roared. Dihn felt weak. Because of him? How? What did he do? The shinx gasped in realization.

"...because he charged me..." He whispered. He felt as though his heart would burst. It _was_ his fault.

"I won't let you come near Dihn!" Tif barked. The mightyena laughed.

"I remember now why you've impressed me. You're also good for a laugh." His face then grew intense and dark. "I wasn't asking, however." Tif growled and bared his fangs. The enemy frowned. "Very well." The mightyena then rushed forward, teeth sharp and ready to tear. Tif knew he couldn't fight him. Not while trying to protect Dihn and Lar. Those two cowards behind the mightyena may come while he was caught and try and kill them. Tif however hated fleeing from a fight, but what else could he do? As quickly as possible, the umbreon kicked up as much dirt as he could and blinded the mightyena in a cloud of dust and grass. The enemy howled as the dirt flew into his eyes. Tif then turned to the two young Pokemon.

"Run! NOW!" He bellowed. Dihn and Lar were cut loose from the evil stare and turned to run. Tinoh and Honh tried to chase them but wet caught in the cloud and ended up crashing into each other. The two luxray collapsed from their stupidity. When the area cleared, the umbreon and children were gone. The mightyena growled. His prey. Gone.

They had run as far as their legs could carry. When they stopped running, they slowed to a quick paced trot. This carried on for half an hour and now the sun was completely hidden behind the earth. The forest had grown thick again and provided cover in case those brutes weren't far behind. Once Tif knew they were safe, he traveled a bit further and finally stopped. Lar and Dihn were both exhausted. They found a large tree with emerging roots to camp by.

"We should be safe here." He announced. He turned to see Lar behind him, but not Dihn. The shinx was far off on the other side of the tree. His ears were down and he seemed to have flopped down as if he had lost hope. Tif could see his shoulders jump every so often. The cub was crying.

"Tif?..." Came Lar's voice. She looked as distraught as Dihn seemed to be. She looked to Dihn.

"Can I help him?..." She asked through tears. Tif watched the poor cub. Such a burden. Tif couldn't answer. Lar sniffled and padded over to him. She approached him and slowly tried to peek at his face. He looked up and saw it was her. Tif watched from where he was. Lar then laid herself down nearly under him. Dihn simply laid his head back down. Tif could hear their small sounds of sorrow and he hung his head, joining them. It was happening all over again. All the umbreon could think about was Loka. How it was because of him that she died. Because he wasn't there to protect her. Now more than ever, he knew that Dihn felt his pain and guilt. A weight like that should never be placed upon a Child's shoulders. Such a heavy burden. He looked to the sky and saw the moon glowing brightly and bathing the forest in its false light.

"Ayra..." He whispered. "I need you.. Now more than ever..."

End of chapter 5

I felt so bad for Dihn as I wrote this chapter. The more I typed the more my heart broke. How is this going to affect Dihn's 'condition'? Will Tif finally decide to return to his pack? What of the mysterious and menacing mightyena, and why was he with the luxray? Leave a review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. Good or bad. Appreciated of course.


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